Battered and Beaten, but Never Broken
by jessiechaos
Summary: For Adrian Zero, Home is not where his heart was.


They decided to back off each other after their first time, to take it slow, to see if what they had was more than just a physical attraction to each other. They were best friends yes, but where they really meant to be more than that. But boys at that age were extremely horny so it was hard to keep their hands off each other.

They had started to hang back out at one of their childhood hideouts, a tree house they had made for each other as children, a place to play but now, a great place to hide from the world as they tried to figure out what was going on between them.

Currently they were in the tree house, Cain leaning up against the wall of the tree house while Zero sat in his lap, lips locked, battling in one of the many make out sessions they had found themselves in. They love the way they felt against each other, the way their lips felt against each other. They could just sit up here for hours, just within each other's arms.

Cain's shirt was off and Zero's hands just slowly traced up and down Cain's flat chest as they continued to kiss. Zero just loved the way Cain felt to his touch, the way the slightest strokes, and pets caused him to whimper and gasp. Zero soon felt hands on the bottom of his shirt. Zero stopped the kissing, looking at Cain disapprovingly.

"You promised me, Wyatt," Zero said looking down at him sadly.

"I don't care, sweetheart. I know you're worried I'm going to think less of you if I see you, but I will not."

"I just don't feel comfortable with you seeing me undressed."

"But hand jobs and making out is fine? Adrian, I want to be able to touch you. Please." Cain said with a smile. Zero just gave Cain a look and he saw the pleading eyes. He sighed, biting his lip before he nodded. Cain smiled as his hand when to pull the long sleeve shirt up and over Zero's head. He knew why Zero always wore long sleeves, even in the middle of summer, but still, it was a little shocking to see why.

Cain's fingers gently brushed over Zero's skin, moving from bruise to bruise, careful not to hurt Zero with his touches. Some of them were old; some were newer, all in different shades of healing. Some he could tell was from Zero just being the active boy he was, but more than not. Some he could tell where from a fist, some were from a slap, and even more looked like they were cause by a boot.

Anger was starting to get the better of him the more he examined his friends body. Zero could see the anger and backed away, pulling his shirt up to his chest.

"I knew I shouldn't have let you," Zero mumbled out.

"Adrian, I'm not mad at you," Cain explained.

"I know you're not. But you're still mad."

"Damn straight, why wouldn't I be? How could anyone do this to you?"

"Can we just go back to the making out, I enjoyed that a whole lot more," Zero said trying to smile but Cain just glared at him.

"How can I even hold you without thinking I'm going to hurt you?" Cain asked.

"I never complained before," Zero said and Cain's eyes just flashed anger again.

"That doesn't mean I wasn't...," then Cain's eyes went wide. "Oh gods was I?" Cain said. Zero leaning in quickly at that.

"Wyatt, I'm fine. I don't want you ever to be afraid to touch me," Zero said leaning in to capture his lips in another passionate kiss. Cain's hands went instinctively to Zero's shoulder before they jumped back, like Zero skin was on fire. Zero broke the kiss with a growl, rubbing himself into Cain's hips, causing Cain to moan.

"Wyatt, just touch me, please. Your touch will never hurt me," Zero purred out. Cain just smiled at that as his hand slipped into Zero's hair pulling him back into a kiss. Cain's other hand went cautiously to his shoulder, touching Zero with the gentlest of strokes causing Zero to purr in his arms. It went like that for a while, Zero kissing Cain while Cain got his chance to explore Zero skin, to watch Zero shudder and pant out. Cain broke the kiss, looking up at Zero with a frown before looking deep within Zero's eyes.

"Why don't you fight back?" Cain asked. Zero just looked at him shocked for a second.

"It wouldn't do any good."

"How do you know until you try? If he's going to hurt you anyway...."

"He's so much stronger than me." Zero said, softly.

"Ok, but I think you're stronger then you give yourself credit for." Cain said before leaning in and kissing Zero's cheek. Zero smiled at this.

"Just being here with you makes me stronger, makes me hope that there something more to this life. It makes me happy and free at the same time," Zero said caressing Cain's cheek. Zero smiled before looking outside before his eyes went a little wide.

"Shit, father told me to be home by dark," Zero said as he looked at the setting suns. He grabbed his shirt quickly before pulling it back on, giving Cain another quick kiss before moving to leave. "I'll be waiting for you tomorrow, so we can walk to school together," Zero said with a smile. Cain smiled back.

"I can't wait. You make me look forward to going to school. How is that possible?" Zero let out a laugh at that.

"I'm just talented like that," Zero said as he moved back in to kiss Cain again and Cain pulled him into a deep kiss. After a moment Zero broke it again.

"I have to go," Zero said sadly.

"I know. I will see you tomorrow," Cain said as he watched Zero crawl out of the tree house.

Zero made it to the ground quickly. He saw how fast the suns where setting and he hoped he could make it home soon, he didn't want to piss off his father anymore then he had to. He raced across the pasture to his house as fast as he could. He got there just before the Suns set and smiled to himself as he caught his breath on the porch before walking into the house. The first thing Zero noticed was his mother, on the floor picking up a glass that looked like it shattered recently.

"Mom? Do you need some help?" Zero said leaning in to help his mother with the shards of glass. He could smell the alcohol and could tell it was his father's, most likely thrown in anger. He was hoping the man was passed out drunk. Zero really didn't want to deal with him at the moment.

"Adrian!" They both heard the angry man's voice say. They both tensed. Zero stood, placing the glass shards that where in his hand on the counter before turning to face his father's angry glare.

"Yes, Father?" Zero said softly.

"Where the fuck have you been?!?!" His father seethed out.

"With my friends, I'm back like you wanted me to be, it's just now dark." Zero felt the smack across his cheek, it stung but he had worse. He lowered his head at that.

"Don't lie to me, boy, you know how I hate it when you do that," his father yelled. Zero could smell the alcohol from his father. Something within Zero snapped. He did nothing wrong, why is he getting punished. He heard Cain in the back of his head telling him to fight.

"I'm not lying, Father! You're just too drunk to remember what you said to me," Zero yelled out. He heard his mother gasp at that and his father just glared at him.

"Mouthy little brat. I'll teach you some manners." He went back for another strike but Zero just blocked it, taken the force on his arm instead of his face.

"Manners!? All you've ever taught me to do is how to drink and hit people," Zero yelled back, moving in to punch his father. The impact was not hard but he knew his father was going to have a nice bruise on his cheek to explain in the morning and it made Zero feel good for once to strike his father instead of the other way around. But when he saw his father's face after that, the pure insanity that was in his eyes, Zero's courage faltered. He panicked and tried to run for the door, but it was too late. His father had him by the back of the neck and shoved him hard up against the wall. Zero let out a loud cry as he felt the air get knocked out of him.

He felt the fist in his side and he closed his eyes in pain, falling to the floor, curling into a ball as his father senselessly beat him. He heard words like 'I will teach you, you little punk.' and 'never hit me again.' Zero heard screaming, but when he tried to open his eyes, all he saw was blood. He thought it might have been mother or maybe one of his sisters but he wasn't sure as he began to pass out.

---

Cain got up the next morning, and got dressed quickly for school. It was so silly, he looked forward to his morning walks with Zero, they got to walk hand in hand if no one was around and since they tried to get to school early, they normally could. And then there was the time before school. When they hid, spending the time alone sometimes they talked, If Zero had a rough night but most of the time they spent it making out. Cain smiled again at that, he loved the way Zero's lips felt on his.

Cain quickly grabbed some fruit and his lunch that his mother prepared for him as he went to the corner of his house to wait for Zero. He waited, eating his fruit. After a while, when Zero had not shown up, Cain started to worry a little bit.

"Maybe he slept in, or is having trouble getting up or something," Cain thought to himself but Zero had never been late when he said he was going to be somewhere. He was about to start walking toward the Zero household when he spotted Lilly in the distance. He ran up to Adrian's little sister.

"Hey Lils. Where's your brother today?"

"Ahhh he's sick," Lilly said, without looking Cain in the eyes. He could tell she was lying to him.

"Lilly what is wrong? Why are you lying to me?" Lilly just looked up at him with pleading eyes.

"I'm sorry. I was told not to tell." Cain could see the terror within her eyes.

"How bad was it?" Cain asked. Lilly's lip just quivered trying to hold back tears.

"I thought he was going to kill him, Wy. I've never seen him that angry." Cain took a step toward the Zero residence and Lilly just grabbed Cain's arm, panicked.

"You can't, Wyatt, no one is supposed to know." Lilly pleaded with him.

"I'm just going to go check up on my sick friend," Cain said, moving out of her grasp, moving closer to where Zero was.

"You're just going to make it worse for him," Lilly screamed.

"How? What's worse then what he has been going through, death? At this point it might just be a blessing for him. But I want to be there for him, to let him know that someone cares for him," Cain said.

"You really care for my brother, don't you?" Lilly said with a sad smile.

"I love him, Lilly, more than anyone else in my life," Cain said before making his way towards the Zero Household.

Cain quickly got to Zero's house and was unsure of what he was going to do. Should he just knock on the door or should he just head to the back and see if he could sneak into Zero's room. He decided on the direct approach as he when to the front door, giving it a firm knock. Cain waited at the door for a while before he gave it another knock. Soon he heard movement behind the door and Rachel Zero opened the door, peeking around it, keeping the door mostly closed.

"Mrs. Zero. I heard that Adrian was sick, so I came to see him," Cain said flashing her one of his good boy grins.

"Wyatt? Shouldn't you be at school?" Rachel said softly still hiding behind the door.

"I will be, as soon as I see him. I just want to make sure he's Ok." Cain said, determined.

"Wyatt, please, just leave. If you want to see him so badly, just come back after school. He is far too ill at the moment for visitors." Rachel said.

"To sick or to badly beaten?" Cain said. Rachel's eyes just went wide at that.

"Wyatt, I'm not going to ask you again. Please leave." She said before closing the door.

"I'm not leaving until I see him!!!" Cain screamed. Cain went to pound on the door. He was mad. He just wanted to see how bad he was. He just wanted to know. Cain huffed, leaving the porch, walking around to the back of the house, to Zero's room. He saw the currents where closed, so he couldn't see within the room. He tried to open the window that Zero normally kept unlocked, just so Cain could sneak in if he needed to. It was locked, most likely by his parents. He cursed to himself. He then felt a hand on the back of his shirt, pulling him away from the window.

"What are you doing you little brat?" he heard the voice of Nicholas Zero say, still holding Cain by the collar of his shirt.

"Let go of me you bastard," Cain screamed, and Nicholas did just that, shoving Cain up against the wall.

"You're the little punk that Adrian hangs out with. What are you doing here?" Nicholas said giving Cain a glare. Cain looked at Nicholas and saw the bruise on his cheek.

"So where did you get the bruise?" Cain asked. Nicholas eyes just narrowed.

"My son popped me one last night. Had to teach him a lesson."

"It's about time someone popped you one. How did it feel getting hit by someone in your own family?"

"I'm sure you're the one that encourage him to do it. Adrian used to be such a good boy until YOU came along."

"You mean a good punching bag!" Cain yelled back. Cain felt the hand smack him across his cheek.

"You need to be careful how you talk to your elders, boy, or they are going to teach you a lesson. Now get off my property before I throw you off. And I never want to see you hanging around my boy again."

"I'm not leaving till I see him." Anger just flashed in Nicholas's eyes. He grabbed Cain by the back of his neck, dragging him to the front of his property, tossing Cain into the dirt road.

"Leave. I never want to see you here again!" Nicholas yelled before walking back to his house.

Cain just sat there in the street, tears of frustration in his eyes. He got to his feet and began to run, running home as fast as his legs would carry him.

He ran into his house quickly, shocking his mother as the door slammed open.

"Wyatt, my Gods, what's your hurry, and why aren't you at school?" Deanna Cain said holding her hand up to her chest in surprise. Cain tried to speak but he couldn't catch his breath from his run. Cain looked up at his mother, tears within his eyes.

"My Gods, Wyatt, honey, you're crying, and your cheek? Did someone hit you?" Cain just nodded. "Oh my. Who, hun?"

"Nicholas Zero." Cain panted out.

"What!?!" His mother said, looking at him in shock.

"Adrian is sick, or so they say, I wanted to go see him, and he hit me."

"Did you say anything to provoke the hit?"

"Nothing but the truth mother."

"What did you say?"

"That Adrian was his punching bag." Deanna's eyes got wide at that.

"Wyatt, whatever possessed you to say that?" Deanna said.

"It's true, you know it. You've seen the bruises… I'm scared mom, I think he's going to kill him. He wasn't coming to school today not because he was sick, I know it. He probably can't even get out of bed. Mom this goes far beyond disciplining a child and you know it. They are abusing him. Please, he is my best friend. I'm not going to stand by while they kill him." By the time Cain was done he was fully in tears. Deanna just pulled her frantic son into her arms, trying her best to comfort him as he lost it, and sobbed into his mother's chest

"Shhh! Wy, its fine. I'll talk to your father; we will see what we can do about this." When his tears started to slow, she moved him so that he was sitting at a chair at the table. She kneeled before her son and smiled.

"Will you be alright alone while I go talk to your father?" She asked. Cain just nodded, sniffling. She ran her hands through her son's soft hair once before she got up and left the house. It wasn't long that he heard his parents coming back into the house. He could tell they were arguing. He could not make out what they were saying, not really wanting to know at the moment, scared that his father was not going to do anything to help his friend. Then he heard his mother, clear as day.

"Samuel Jonathan Cain!! If you don't go down there right this instant and help that poor boy I swear to the gods that I will not be here when you come back this evening!!" Cain's eyes were wide at his mother's statement. It wasn't long before his father came into the Kitchen.

"Ok boy, let's get going," his father said with his coat and hat in hand as he walked out the front door.

Cain and his father walked back to the Zero household in silence. When the house got within view, his father stopped, and looked at Cain

"I want you to keep your mouth shut, not a word out of you, you got me, son." Cain just nodded as his father made his way to the front door of the Zero household, before giving the door a loud knock. It was Nicholas who opened the door. He sent a glare towards Cain before his eyes looked up at Samuel's.

"I told that son of yours that he was not welcome on my property anymore," Nicholas seethed out at Samuel.

"Well he is with me, so he will behave himself."

"I don't want him on my property," Nicholas seethed again.

"Well, Nicholas, he will be leaving as soon as I'm finished with what I came for."

"And what is that _Samuel?" _Nicholas said.

"I would like to see your son, if that is not too much trouble," Samuel said. Nicholas sent a nasty look at Cain before he responded.

"He's terribly sick at the moment. I don't want you to catch it," Nicholas said quickly.

"I think I will risk it," Samuel said taking a step closer to the door.

"Well, I don't want either of you to set foot inside this house," Nicholas said.

"Well you see then, there is the problem, my wife will not let me come home until I check up on your son, and seeing that it would be easier just to let me in, then me to walk all the way into town and talk to the Sheriff." Samuel said, standing his ground.

"You wouldn't! You know who my father is, if I wanted to I could have you all arrested." Nicholas said all high and mighty.

"Shut the fuck up, Nicholas, I don't care who your father is or how close he works with the Queen, this is a matter of a child's life, and I don't think even the Queen herself would save you if she knew you where abusing your son the way you are," Samuel said venom in his words. Cain was just standing there in shock. For one, his father just dropped the F bomb and he never even heard his father curse before and two, he never heard his father speak like that to anyone outside the family. He was always one for pleasantries. Nicholas just glared at both of them.

"Whatever your son is saying it's all lies," Nicholas seethed out.

"We both know he's telling the truth, don't kid yourself that no one notices the bruises on your kids. I'm just here to see how severely you were disciplining your son." Nicholas just glared at both of them again before he moved out of the door way.

Samuel and Cain entered the house quickly. They noticed that Rachel was cleaning up a mess, of broken dishes, a table, and then they saw the blood on the floor. Cain's heart stopped at that.

"Adrian," Cain whispered before heading off into the direction of his friend's room, his father on his heels. Cain was in the door and he just stopped dead in his tracks. He looked at the sleeping form of his best friend and all he wanted to do was cry. Zero looked bad; his face was covered in bruises and cuts. As he slept Cain could tell that he was having trouble breathing, most likely from the pain. Cain was at his friend's side, sitting on the bed. When he heard Zero letting out a moan of pain at the slight movement of the bed, a tear slipped down Cain's cheek.

"Father, something has to be done," Cain said softly.

"My gods, how could anyone do that to a child?" Samuel was in shock at what he saw. "Wake him." His father said and Cain just nodded.

"Adrian, wake up," Cain said softly and he saw Adrian beginning to stir.

"Wyatt?" Zero said, groggy before he tried to sit up and cried out.

"Adrian, just stay put for the moment." Cain said looking up at his father.

"Adrian, it's Samuel Cain." Samuel said, pulling up a chair so he sat next to the bed.

"Hello, Sir." Zero said with a gasp.

"Don't try and speak, son. Me and Wyatt are going to help you. We are going to get you to our house. Get you out of here. Get you safe." At that Zero shook his head, moaning out.

"Adrian? What do you mean no?" Cain said, worried.

"I don't want to leave," Zero moaned out.

"What?! Why would you choose to stay in this hell hole?" Cain said in shock.

"Lilly." he moaned. "I have to protect her."

"My Gods, Adrian, how are you going to be able to protect her if you are dead!?" Cain said and Zero just smiled at him.

"Thank you for wanting to protect me, but I'm fine where I am," Zero said. Cain turned to look at his father, tears within his eyes.

"Father, we're still taking him with us," Cain pleaded.

"Wyatt, if he wants to stay here, that's his choice. I'm not going to force the issue if he wants to stay." Cain just looked back at Zero.

"Adrian, stop being stupid and come with us." Zero just shook his head again. Samuel sighed before getting up from the chair and leaving the room

"Adrian, please don't do this. Just come with me. You can be happy. You can be safe."

"But not at the cost of Lilly's safety. Wyatt, if I can prevent one less beating sent to her by staying here, if I could prevent it all I would, I asked for this. If I just stayed low I would have been fine, but I wanted to make you proud so I fought. I don't regret it one bit, Wyatt," Zero gasped out. Cain was nearly in tears at that.

"I'm sorry. You don't have to fight anymore. I'm sorry I even asked you to. Please. I never want to see you like this again," Cain said, tears streaming down his face.

"Wyatt, don't cry. I will be fine. But I ask you one favor."

"Anything," Cain said.

"Hold me…" Zero said with a smile.

"But, what if I hurt you?"

"I told you, Wyatt, your touches will never hurt me," Zero said with another smile. Cain just nodded before slowly slipping into the bed trying his best not to disturb the bed. He laid down next to zero before placing his hand over his chest softly... Zero moved his hand so that it rested on Cain's. Zero just sighed contently at this.

"As long as you don't leave my side, Wyatt, I can face any obstacle in my life, you got me?" Zero said. Cain just nodded, pulling in closer to Zero, letting the tears fall down his cheeks as he held his best friend, all battered and beaten, but never broken.


End file.
